Best Essential Oils for Children’s Cough

There are many possible causes of children’s cough. If your child has a cough, however, it is essential that you bring him or her to a doctor for examination as quickly as possible. Essential oils can be a useful tool in dealing with the symptoms of your child’s cough. They are a complementary sort of treatment that you can use in addition to medical attention (but never instead of it).

Get your child’s doctor’s permission before using essential oils with your son or daughter. Be aware that most essential oils cannot be taken orally, especially by children. Most of them can only be used by breathing in their vapors. Several of them can be included in chest rubs. We will go over this in greater detail later.

Reasons for Children’s Cough

Dry cough: A dry cough is a cough without any mucus or fluid. It might be painful, and is often persistent.

Wet cough: A wet cough is a cough accompanied by a lot of mucus or fluid.

Whooping cough/pertussis: Whooping cough (or pertussis) involves frequently occurring coughing fits that have between five and fifteen coughs in a row. One symptom of whooping cough is often shortness of breath. It is a highly contagious illness.

There are a variety of potential causes of cough:

Infection: Coughs can be caused by a viral or bacterial infection. Bacterial infections most often require antibiotic treatment.

Asthma: The symptoms caused by asthma tend to vary from child to child. One common symptom of asthma is a wheezing cough that is often more sever at night. If your child’s cough gets worse after play or physical activity, asthma could be the cause. If you think that your child might have asthma, bring your child to his or her doctor as soon as possible for examination and treatment.

Acid reflux: Acid reflux can cause a cough in children. Other symptoms of this condition can include heartburn, a bad taste in the child’s mouth, and spitting up and/or vomiting.

A foreign body: If you think that your child’s cough might be caused by their swallowing an object, get him or her immediate medical attention. If they are choking, you must call 911 and use whatever first aid training you have.

Best Essential Oils for Children’s Cough

Essential oils can be useful in alleviating the symptoms of your child’s cough. Please be aware, however, that it is always your responsibility as a parent to make sure that your child is examined by a doctor in a timely fashion.

It is possible that antibiotics or other types of medical treatment will be required. Make sure to consult with your child’s doctor and get his or her permission before using essential oils.

Remember that only a few essential oils can be used (in diluted form) orally; many of them cannot be taken orally at all, especially by children. Some essential oils that you might find helpful for your child’s cough include:

Oregano Essential Oil

Oregano essential oil (also referred to as oil of oregano) has antiviral, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and anti-allergenic properties, and has been used since ancient times.

Oregano essential oil is extracted from fresh oregano leaves (Oreganum vulgare) through steam distillation. Some of oregano oil’s most important components are carvacrol, thymol, pinene, caryophyllene, and cymene.

Make sure to get your doctor’s permission before giving oregano oil to your child orally or putting it on their skin. Remember that the oil must be diluted with a carrier oil (such as coconut oil) before use.

Lavender Essential Oil

Lavender can help with problems such as skin and scalp conditions, pain, nervous tension, and respiratory issues. Lavender oil is extracted from the lavender plant’s flowers, mainly by way of steam distillation.

Lavender essential oil is frequently used in aromatherapy, and is in many soaps, lotions, infusions, gels, and aromatherapy oil recipes.

Lavender is often used in steam or vapor, or in rubs applied to the back, chest, or neck. This oil is thought to loosen up extra phlegm in the chest, helping to reduce congestion. This essential oil has antibacterial properties that can be useful.

Basil Essential Oil

Basil essential oil is used by many people for problems such as diabetes, constipation, indigestion, nausea, and respiratory problems.

Basil oil contains potassium, magnesium, vitamin A, calcium, and iron. The seeds and leaves of the basil plant are the most important parts, and are used to make the oil.

This essential oil is used in many different parts of the world, including Southeast Asia, Europe, India, and Central Asia. Basil essential oil has many general health benefits.

These include relief of cold symptoms, asthma, symptoms of infection, and the effects of stress. It also boosts blood circulation, helps with pain, and can prevent vomiting.

Peppermint Essential Oil

Peppermint essential oil is calming and cooling. This oil has antibacterial properties. Peppermint is a hybrid of water mint (Mentha aquatic) and spearmint.

Its essential oil is made by steam distilling the flowering plant’s fresh aerial parts. Menthone and menthol are peppermint’s most important ingredients.

Peppermint essential oil is especially effective for problems such as nausea, and has been sued in many different cultures for thousands of years.

Ginger Essential Oil

Ginger essential oil has anti-inflammatory, analgesic, expectorant, and digestive properties. Ginger oil can alleviate the symptoms of a variety of health problems, such as respiratory issues, inflammation, indigestion, and nausea and other stomach problems.

This oil is extracted from the root of the herb ginger (Zingiber Officinale). The most beneficial component in ginger essential oil is Gingerol.

Ginger oil is a very effective expectorant, and therefore is helpful with symptoms of bronchitis, asthma, flu, cold, and cough.

Eucalyptus Essential Oil

Avoid using eucalyptus oil with very young children. Eucalyptus has been used by the Australian Aborigines for thousands of years. It has many health benefits, and has expectorant and antibacterial properties.

Many people feel that eucalyptus oil can be helpful with the symptoms of respiratory problems such as bronchitis and asthma.

Tea Tree Essential Oil

Tea tree oil is extracted from the leaves of a native Australian tree, Melaleuca alternifolia. This oil has been used for thousands of years by the Aborigines of Australia, who crush the leaves to get the oil and breathe in the scent and its vapors to help alleviate respiratory problems.

Clove Essential Oil

Clove (Eugenia caryophyllata) is indigenous to Madagascar and Indonesia. Cloves are picked from an evergreen tree, as unopened buds. They are pink in color at that point, but become brown after they are dried.

Clove is rich in a number of minerals and nutrients, such as manganese, calcium, magnesium, and potassium. A few of clove’s health benefits include its ability to fight fungus and mold, reduce inflammation, increase energy, alleviate the symptoms of gum disease, boost blood circulation, and kill parasites.

Lemon Essential Oil

Lemon essential oil is derived from cold-pressing of lemon peel, which contains important fat-soluble phytonutrients. This essential oil is believed to have a number of different benefits.

These include its ability to improve digestion; prevent the malabsorption of nutrients; deal with nausea; and relieve cough.

Thyme Essential Oil

Thyme essential oil is derived from fresh leaves and flowers, through steam distillation. Some of the oil’s most significant components are carvacrol, thymol, alpha-thujone, beta-caryophyllene, linalool, beta-pinene, and camphene.

Thyme essential oil has antibacterial, stimulant, antispasmodic, and expectorant properties. It has several health benefits, such as boosted circulation and relief of cough and congestion.

Here are Some Ways to Use Essential Oils for your Child

Chest rub

The chest rub described below is a very effective decongestant and will help to soothe your child’s cough.

Two drops of eucalyptus essential oil

Two drops of lavender essential oil

Five drops of frankincense oil

Five drops of basil essential oil

Two tablespoons of raw shea butter

To make this rub:

While you gently stir with a spatula, melt the shea butter in a double boiler.

After the shea butter is melted, remove it from the stove. Leave it to cool down a bit, but don’t let it solidify.

Stir in the essential oils.

Put the mixture into a container. Leave it in the fridge overnight, to help solidify the rub.

Apply the rub to your child’s throat and chest, once each morning and once each night.

When your child coughs and spits up mucus, make sure they spit it out. Don’t let them swallow it.

Essential oils in hot steam

Breathing in the hot steam and vapors from this mixture will help your child’s cough. You will need:

Hot water

A large bowl

One drop of ginger essential oil

One drop of oregano oil

One drop of peppermint oil

First boil the water until it steams. Take it off the heat, and pour it into a large bowl.

Add in the essential oils.

Ask your child to breathe in the steam and its vapors. This will help to break down the mucus in your child’s respiratory system and clear their airways.

Use a diffuser or vaporizer

Use a diffuser or vaporizer in a large room with your child. Just a few of the oils you can use in this area lavender essential oil (one or two drops), frankincense essential oil (one or two drops), and lemon essential oil.

Essential Oil Blends

You should avoid using this blend in children under three years old. Use only small amounts on children from four to six years old. The recipe below yields a large amount of the blend that you can store in a bottle for numerous uses.

Peppermint (28 drops)

Myrtle (28 drops)

Spruce (28 drops)

Ravintsara (20 drops)

Pine (20 drops)

Marojam (6 drops)

Put these oils in an empty essential oils bottle (preferably 15 mL). Mix them with a carrier oil, such as fractionated coconut oil (this is essential) before applying them to the skin (on the chest).

If you don’t want to apply it to the skin, you can put them in a diffuser, or you can just let your child breathe in the oils’ smell from the bottle.

Dangers of Eucalyptus Oil and Peppermint Oil

Some oils (such as eucalyptus and peppermint) should never be used in close proximity to very young children. This is because they contain menthol and 1,8-cineole, and these substances can cause breathing in young children and babies to become dangerously slow. They can even cause breathing to stop completely in some cases, making them extremely dangerous.

Other Natural Remedies for Children’s Cough

Essential oils are only a few of the many natural substances you can use to help alleviate the symptoms of your child’s cough. We will go over some of these below. Remember to get your doctor’s permission before using any of these ideas.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Chicken noodle soup is not only delicious but offers anti-inflammatory benefits that will help your child feel better and hopefully recover more quickly. You can use homemade chicken noodle soup or soup from a can.

Increase Liquids

Make sure that your child is staying properly hydrated at all times. This will help to thin out the mucus.

Use a Cool-Mist Humidifier

Using a cool-mist humidifier will help to soothe and calm your child’s respiratory system. Make sure to read the humidifier’s instructions, and clean out the machine as necessary to prevent mold growth.

This is important, as such mold growth could aggravate your child’s existing symptoms as well as trigger allergies.

Honey

Give one tablespoon of honey to your child before he or she goes to sleep each night. Buckwheat honey tends to be especially good for soothing a cough. Honey is well-known for its antibacterial properties. It is also soothing and anti-inflammatory.

Salt Water Gargle

Have your child gargle with salt water a couple of times a day. Salt water has useful anti-bacterial properties.

Lemon Juice and Honey

Mix one teaspoon of honey and an equal amount of fresh lemon juice in a cup of warm water. Your child should drink this three times a day.

Ginger

Mix one-quarter teaspoon of crushed ginger and an equal amount of cayenne pepper together with one tablespoon each of honey and apple cider vinegar. Add in two tablespoons of water. Give two teaspoons of this mixture to your child each day.

Apple Cider Vinegar and Honey

Mix one teaspoon of apple cider vinegar and one teaspoon of honey in a glass of water. Allow your child to sip this as needed. Apple cider vinegar has useful antibacterial properties. The honey in the mix will help to sweeten the taste, making it more palatable to your child.

Homemade Cough Syrup with Fenugreek Seeds and Thyme Leaves

Allow one teaspoon of fenugreek seeds, one teaspoon of thyme leaves, half a lemon (deseeded and cut up), and one tablespoon of feverfew to steep in water (one and a half cups) for 30 minutes.

Once this time has passed, strain the liquid. Simmer it until it reduces to around one cup. Add in two cups of honey and two tablespoons of vegetable glycerine.

Let the mix cool, and then put it in a jar to store in the fridge. Dosages of this homemade cough medicine are as follows: one teaspoon for a child of 50 pounds; two teaspoons for a child of 75 pounds; and one tablespoon for a child of 100 pounds, every four hours.

Homemade Cough Syrup with Grated Ginger Root and Chamomile Flowers

Add a quarter cup of grated ginger root, a quarter cup of chamomile flowers, a quarter cup of marshmallow root, and one tablespoon of cinnamon to one quart of filtered water.

Boil this mixture until it reduces to half the original volume, and then strain it. While the liquid is still warm, mix in some lemon juice and honey. Allow it to cool.

Put it in an airtight container and store it in the fridge. It will last for as long as two months. Give your child one teaspoon of it when needed.

Anise Leaves

Add crushed anise (one tablespoon) to one and a half cups of boiling water. Allow this to steep for about 30 minutes, and then put the liquid in a pot on the stove to simmer until it reduces to one cup. Mix in two cups of honey.

Allow the liquid to cool, and then put it in a jar to store in the fridge for up to two months. Give your child half a teaspoon of this mixture at a time.

Anise is helpful for loosening bronchi secretions, making them easier to cough up. You should be able to find anise leaves at your local grocery or health food store.

Vitamin C

Think about giving your child a vitamin C supplement. You will need to talk to your child’s doctor first, however, to ensure that you are aware of the correct dosage. Alternatively, you could increase the amount of vitamin C present in your son or daughter’s diet.

Probiotics

Giving your child probiotics will be helpful to his or her immune system. Probiotic supplements contain good bacteria that counteract the bad bacteria that can make you sick.

Talk to your doctor or pharmacist for more information. If your child is too young or has difficulty in swallowing a capsule (or if the capsule is large), you can empty it into their food or a drink.

Green Vegetables

Encourage your child to eat more green vegetables on a daily basis. This will give his or her immune system a boost. Green vegetables contain a wide variety of wonderfully beneficial nutrients that will benefit their general health, as well.

Making green vegetables a large part of your child’s regular diet will help them grow up healthy and strong.

Popsicle Treat

Let your child enjoy a popsicle or two each day, as needed. This will soothe his or her throat.

Lemon and Honey in Hot Water

Add some lemon and honey to a mug of hot water for your child to sip. This will help to thin out the mucus and clear your child’s congestion. Lemon is rich in vitamin C, making it useful for boosting the functioning of the immune system.

Conclusion

A cough can be very distressing for a child, and perhaps equally so for his or her parents. While it’s essential for you to bring your child to their doctor immediately and have them properly diagnosed and treated, it’s true that there are a number of natural remedies that you can use to help alleviate the symptoms.

Natural remedies should never be seen as an alternative therapy, but rather a complementary one. Talk to a medical professional about any plans you have for natural remedies and get their permission to use them.

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